A Whisper and A Clamor
by Kat Kat B
Summary: Before the War escalates, Remus and Tonks have an argument about why they're together. Oddly enough, it's their pots and pans cupboard that settles the fight.


_Tonks and Lupin are not dead, they're just sleeping. ;). I don't own, so don't sue. For the best effect, I recommend listening to Dierks Bentley's "Come a Little Closer" while reading this...or maybe something by Josh Groban. I don't know. Pick a song to listen to that makes you feel safe and loved. :D_

Tonks' hair flashed from a violent red to a fiery orange before she settled on a depressed grey. She was still furious at Remus and had retreated to the kitchen for sanctuary. Rearranging the pots and pans cupboard and banging them together louder than necessary, she began to work out her frustration. She loved him. Why couldn't she get that simple thought through? He was constantly worrying that he had degraded her somehow, brought her down by their marriage. He was older, much too older, he had said. She didn't care. He was a werewolf, he had mentioned. She didn't care. He had sighed and said she was too good for him. She didn't bloody care. She had chosen him. If Tonks had wanted someone younger, "good enough", and, you know, without wolfish tendencies, she would have chosen someone else. But no, she had chosen him, Remus Lupin. She had told him that too, in the sweet, tender voice she reserved for Remus and Remus alone, her hands cradling his weathered and worried face. And his response to this loving, accepting gesture? He had asked her to leave him alone for a bit.

"Sure. I'll leave him"_ BANG _" the HELL" _CLATTER_ "alone!" _CRASH. _All of the pots and pans from the large cupboard had fallen off the shelves and out of their meticulous stacks. They crashed on her, around her and knocked her flat on her back. "Ow," She whispered, her voice breaking a little bit. Tonks put her hand to her currently grey hairline and red blood dripped between her fingers.

Remus' sock-padded steps slapped urgently against the hardwood floor of the living room and kitchen. "Nymphadora? Are you all right?" Grabbing a nearby dishtowel, he knelt next to her and applied light pressure to the open wound on her forehead.

She set her lips in a pout, similar to a small child's. "I'm fine."

"What happened, love?" His voice was so full of concern, her anger faded slightly. But only slightly.

"I was mad at you, so I came out here to rearrange the pots and pans..."

"So I heard," he commented dryly. Tonks gave him a withering stare. "Sorry."

She resumed her pout and continued her tale. "I was rearranging the pots and pans, and I got a little too enthusiastic about it, and they all fell out."

"And here we are." He removed the towel from her forehead to see the damage.

"And your verdict?" She scowled.

"You'll survive." He reapplied the towel to her forehead. Tonks wouldn't look at him, she simply stared out into space, still scowling. "Love?" No response. Remus sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry about earlier. I know you chose me, and that you love me, but I have a hard time wrapping my mind around that sometimes. You're more than I could have ever asked for or dreamed of, and I love you." He kissed her temple gently.

Her lower lip trembled, and she looked into his eyes. "You're a charmer when you want to be, you know?"

He smiled and sat next to her so he could put his arm around her shoulders and removed the towel, since the bleeding had slowed considerably. Removing his wand from the pocket of his worn trousers, he whispered a spell to heal the split skin on her head. Once it was completed, Tonks stretched upwards and kissed him lightly on the lips. He chuckled and waved his wand once again. Muttering quietly, he sent all the pots flying back into sturdy stacks and closed the cupboard doors.

"Mm. Thank you, sweetheart." She rested her head on his shoulder.

"You're welcome, Nymphadora." He kissed her now bubble gum pink hair.

"I'm still mad at you, you know. You're an insufferable git."

He chuckled lightly. "I love you too."

_Once again, I don't own. Review? Please? I don't have any cookies but I love the people who review/alert/fave. _


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